I remember when this was just one of the 5 late '70s Red Rocks shows and then it somehow received vaunted status. The hype comes from a phenomenal second set sequence - one of the best of '78. But we know now that overall this is the 3rd best show of the tour (Omaha>KC). The two shows here (their first at the venue) were so successful that immediately two more shows were added, to help pay their way across to Egypt. First though, there was a 6 week gap in between the four shows while the band worked on the Shakedown Street LP, premiering songs when they returned for 8/30.

First Set. The beginning is missing from the official - Bobby tells one of his Dadaist non-jokes and there's a brief Spring Song tuning from Jer. By Good Lovin', they haven't tightened yet - some slop/some shoes in dryer. On Dire Wolf Jer sings the wrong verse, takes a do-over on "When I awoke", but the solo is hearty. Assessments are made and the set turns around for It Must Have Been the Roses. Nicely tempoed, it was almost never this good in the late Donna era. Minglewood takes off on the 2nd Jer solo, but the Keith solo is mixed too low to hear on the SBD/official. Ramble on Rose is a light version, almost incidental. The rest is okay but by the end of Deal it's gotten a bit loose and with a very off-key Donna.

Second Set. After the first two songs you may be wondering what the fuss is about, but Estimated blows the Rocks wide open when Jer starts wrangling with it (though, honestly, the drummers are out of sync this whole show). The end jam is the calm after the storm. That sets up a legendary Dead sequence, into an astonishing The Other One that blends the past and displays the future. Eyes is uptempo for a '78, and perhaps the year's best - better even than 2/3 or 5/10. It never lets up on the insanity. From ~10:01>10:51 there's a patch. This was edited from the official, losing 50sec @~9:59. Drums is good for a '78; more like an '81. But Space is not (about as masturbatory as it ever got post-Feedback). Franks comes late (they had done a Wharf>Franks after Drums>Space on 1/10; after this, for years it was Half Step>Franks in the 1st set). The rest is nicely done save two exceptions. Sugar Mag has nice parts and some not as nice, and Terrapin tries to trainwreck. One More Saturday makes up for it and the encore would have been great fun in person. It's the last of the nine Werewolf encores of '78 (it was played once in '85 for Halloween) and nearly all were ghastly (though their hair was perfect) - except this fine one (and maybe 4/24).

1st Set:  C+
2nd Set: B+
Overall = 3¾ stars

Highlights:
It Must Have Been the Roses - no skipping; great tempo and Donna
Estimated Prophet>The Other One>Eyes of the World>Drums - a legendary, must-hear sequence
Werewolves of London - finally nailed so it could be binned

SOURCES: The miller_106070_flac16 is much brighter and clearer than on the two official releases (which have an edited Eyes), but the tobin_91871 is the only one that's complete. Ship of Fools is on the Red Rocks Live compilation.

Nice quality recording, good clarity on guitar and vocals.

Surprisingly unique show with some loopy riffs and vocals. Great beginning on Bertha with a twinkle of the keys. Smokin' Sampson & Delilah. wonderful bass throughout estimated, great jerry jammin' on eyes...drum sequence is excellent but brought to a wincing end with Donna's squeal for the beginning of space. Thankfully she fades away as they transition to really heartfelt Wharf Rat with Jerry "shhh-ing" the crowd as he bends the strings with emotion.